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Cashier charged with stealing $640 from Fitchburg KMart

Sentinel & Enterprise

Updated:
10/31/2012 07:14:27 AM EDT

FITCHBURG -- A cashier who admitted to pocketing $640 from her KMart register was arraigned in Fitchburg District Court on Tuesday.

In a signed confession, Shaiana Hamilton, 18, of 37 Peabody St., Gardner, said she was not aware there were cameras pointed at her register at the Fitchburg KMart. She admitted to lifting $440 on Sept. 14 and $200 on Sept. 18, when she was caught by the store's security team.

She wrote she wanted the money to make car payments. She agreed to repay the full amount.

Hamilton is charged with a single count of larceny over $250. She was released on her own personal recognizance. Her next scheduled court appearance is Dec. 3.

Police: Woman tried to rob mother

LEOMINSTER -- A Holden woman was released on her own personal recognizance and ordered to return to Leominster District Court on Dec. 6 after being arraigned on charges of attempting to commit a crime and possession of a class E drug.

Holden police were called to 63 Parker Ave., for a report of a female attempting to steal her mother's pocketbook from her residence. Court documents show that the suspect in the matter, 17-year-old Kayla Harding, is known to police for alleged drug use.

On arrival, Officer Anthony Gribbons spoke with Harding's parents, who said she has a problem with prescription medication and had been asking them for $10.

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They repeatedly told her no, according to documents, because they believed it was so Harding could buy drugs.

Harding fled the scene when the police were called, and she discarded the pocketbook on her way out. A Suboxone pill was found in the home.

While police were on the scene, Harding's parents received a phone call from Harding from a pay phone at a grocery store. Harding was apprehended and brought to the home, where she admitted she planned to buy drugs with the money.

Man charged with hitting girlfriend

LEOMINSTER -- A homeless Fitchburg man is due back in court for a bail hearing today after being arraigned Tuesday on a single count of assault and battery and one count of disorderly conduct after allegedly hitting his girlfriend and then yelling profanities at officers.

Leominster police Officer John Monahan responded to the Super 8 Motel in Leominster on Monday during Hurricane Sandy for a report of a disturbance on the second floor.

On arrival, he said he could hear a female crying, and he illuminated the hallway with his flashlight. He located a distraught-looking woman, who, when asked, said she was not OK.

She initially would not tell Monahan what the problem was, but after calming down, she said she and her boyfriend, 28-year-old Michael S. Koziol, are homeless but were given the opportunity to stay in the hotel for the night by Our Father's House in Fitchburg.

She went into the bathroom to shave but halfway through, the power went out, and she said she was not able to finish. She claims that when she told Koziol, he beat her up.

When she realized Koziol would be arrested, she attempted to change her story because she said she did not want him to be arrested.

Once Koziol was charged, he began yelling profanities at police officers and other patrons in the hotel lobby, and said he didn't do anything wrong. While being booked, he also said he wanted to hurt a police officer.

Fitchburg resident allegedly stabs man

FITCHBURG -- A Fitchburg man was arrested early Sunday for allegedly stabbing a 34-year-old Fitchburg man on Water Street, according to Sgt. Glenn Fossa.

Emmanuel A. Cruz, 21, of 186 Prichard St., No. 4, is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and armed assault with intent to murder.

Police received the call Sunday just after 2:30 a.m., and were dispatched to the area of 889 Water St., Fossa said. A female witness told police she saw Cruz stab the man with a knife, which was not recovered after a search of the scene, Cruz's home and vehicle.

The male victim, who was believed to be coughing up blood, was brought to HealthAlliance Hospital Leominster by the witness. His condition was unknown.

According to Fossa, there was an allegation that a relationship between the three parties led to the alleged assault.

Fitchburg woman charged with OUI

FITCHBURG -- A report of an erratic driver led to a couple being arrested after the car they were in allegedly struck a parked vehicle on Main Street on Friday night, according to Sgt. Glenn Fossa.

Grace C. Ostrowski, 31, of 39 West St., No. 1, Fitchburg, is charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol (second offense) and two counts of leaving the scene of property damage. Thomas R. Stevens, 25, of 215 Whalom Road, Lunenburg, is charged with assault and battery.

According to Fossa, the Fitchburg Police Department received several calls regarding a hit-and-run on a Shirley man's car at the Hess Station on Main Street on Friday just before 10 p.m.

According to court documents, police found the vehicle driven by Ostrowski at the intersection of Main Street and Myrtle Avenue, and Ostrowski's speech was slurred and her eyes glassy. Ostrowski admitted to having consumed four alcoholic drinks and to having taken Suboxone, according to a police report by Officer Dominic Melanson.

"She stated that her boyfriend, who was in the passenger seat, had been punching her ...," Melanson wrote in the report, noting red marks on her cheek and neck.

Ostrowski failed four field sobriety tests, he said.

She was arraigned in Fitchburg District Court on Monday and released on her personal recognizance. She is due back in court Dec. 13.

Disturbance leads to man's arrest

FITCHBURG -- Calls about a disturbance between a man and a woman in the area of 14 Congress St., resulted in the arrest of a Fitchburg man Friday morning, according to Sgt. Glenn Fossa.

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